Is ABS Plastic safe?

[Tom Sieczkarek]

Is abs plastic safe to run on the laser? Worried about the off gas and its effect on the machine.

[Dan Hintz]

Yes........

[Richard Rumancik]

The gases probably won't affect the machine any more than any other plastic but they may affect you . . . the rubber component in ABS does not smell that great and even with a good exhaust system you will have smell. Also the parts will retain some odor for a while after cutting. Try to get lots of fresh air into the room. That's easier to do in summer . . .

[Craig Matheny]

Hey you want a nasty smell engrave on Ostrich Eggs I had to move my machine outside it stunk so bad

[Douglas J Miller]

Is there any way to tell which plastics are safe and which have pvc's in them?

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Is there any way to tell which plastics are safe and which have pvc's in them?

Get a gob of it on a piece of metal (paper clip) and burn it. If it's green, you got chlorine and not laser safe.

[Douglas J Miller]

Get a gob of it on a piece of metal (paper clip) and burn it. If it's green, you got chlorine and not laser safe.

Thank you!

[Larry Bratton]

Actually it needs to be a piece of copper wire. Heat up the wire, stick it into the material and get some on the wire. Then stick it back in the flame. I use a MAP gas torch. If you see any green in the flame when it burns, don't use it in the laser. This is called the Bilstein test and here is a link to the instructions.
http://www.rarenotes.net/beilstein.html .


(http://www.rarenotes.net/beilstein.html)

[Tom Sieczkarek]

Thanks for all the help!!

[Chris DeGerolamo]

[QUOTE=Larry Bratton;1756845]Actually it needs to be a piece of copper wire. Heat up the wire, stick it into the material and get some on the wire. Then stick it back in the flame. I use a MAP gas torch. If you see any green in the flame when it burns, don't use it in the laser. This is called the Bilstein test and here is a link to the instructions.
http://www.rarenotes.net/beilstein.html .

The thought occurred to me to edit my post to read this way ^^ haha. Thanks for correcting me (I mean this sincerely, not sarcastically).

[Larry Bratton]

[QUOTE=Chris DeGerolamo;1757172][QUOTE=Larry Bratton;1756845]Actually it needs to be a piece of copper wire. Heat up the wire, stick it into the material and get some on the wire. Then stick it back in the flame. I use a MAP gas torch. If you see any green in the flame when it burns, don't use it in the laser. This is called the Bilstein test and here is a link to the instructions.
http://www.rarenotes.net/beilstein.html .

The thought occurred to me to edit my post to read this way ^^ haha. Thanks for correcting me (I mean this sincerely, not sarcastically).[/QUOTE
NP-happens to the BEST of us :)